Wow! Incredible to say the least. The crowds were absolutely enormous, amounting to a conservative estimate of 15,000 plus. To look out along the horizon, you'd know that was a very conservative estimate. The crowds were immense. The rocks were cloaked in and endless ocean of crowd that erupted into cheer at every intense move in "the pit." To put it bluntly, the action on the rocks rose to the occasion in an exemplary and entertaining fashion.

Ken Shupe and The Moose are Crowned the Kings of SUPERCRAWL after two days of incredible competition. The duo did not report any problems for the entire weekend.

The legendary Walker Evans, high on the charts as he began his day, crawled like he was in the hunt for something big, and, he was. Favored among a majority of the crowd, it was as if the world had its eyes on him. Early in the day, his fate was to be sealed with a singular action that cost him the championship. He rolled. At the end of the day, he earned fourth for the inaugural SUPERCRAWL.

The Kings of SUPERCRAWL are Crowned

As cool as a couple of hand picked country boys from South Carolina can be, Ken Shupe and The Moose carved their way into the history books, clinching the first-ever Crown of the SUPERCRAWL and earning the hearts and admiration of the crowd in their casual South Carolina fashion. The two finished the event with nine points to their good name.

Tyler Wolford did his best to hand on to the horizon.

Not much for fame and glory, the two country boys merely walked away from their last obstacle with a smile and a firm handshake to all those who approached. "It was good. It was good," said Moose as he climbed the steep face of the final obstacle back to their BFGoodrich Krawler-clad rig. "Appreciate it. Appreciate it. Thanks. Appreciate it," as he shook their hands.

Just moments before they took to the last obstacle, the two were out on the same obstacle helping to right the rig of a fellow rock crawler in need. The rig had rolled onto its side in a bad spot on the verge of a cliff. The Moose was immediately on the scene and at the ready to right the situation.

But ultimately, gravity conquered, sending the rig over the edge.

"Let The Moose have at it. He'll get 'er right." The crowd yelled out: "Moose. Moose. Moose. Moose on the loose. Moose . . ." When the two took to the course to determine their own fate, the crowd knew very well what they were about to witness, a championship performance. Each move was calculated and equally critical in effort - teamwork at its best.

Second in Charge

Tracy Jordan and spotter Jerry Watson clung to the boot hills of the SUPERCRAWL Kings as best they could throughout the day, garnering the nod of the crowd but not the finish needed to do anything better than second for the weekend in their BFGoodrich-clad 2003 Toyota buggy.

Mike Shaffer and Lance Clifford, their rig wearing the JP Off-Road banner, did not manage to make the top ten, but gave it one hell of a try.

For the rookie tire on the rocks, BFG claimed the top three slots in Unlimited Class competition. Ken Blume and spotter Jake Ahaway, in their Jeep CJ-7, brought home the third after a ruthless day of keeping up with Tracy Jordan and crew, finishing the weekend with 33 points to their name.

It's easy enough to say that the first roll over of the day is the best, but Mike Shaffer and spotter Lance Clifford, who finished 16 for the weekend, couldn't compete with what quickly became the rowdiest roll over of the weekend.

And the end of the day, the efforts of those falling back in the pack became increasingly outrageous. If you're going to go out, go out with a statement. Extreme throttle and utter recklessness accompanied that statement of desperation.

Chris Durham took possession of the weekend's prize. Ending the day with a total of 188 points, he pointed out on four of the ten obstacles of the weekend. The only way to earn that, in his case, was with extreme measures made for good smack talk around the campfire for years to come.

This obstacle tossed them back down the mountain and onto its lid in a spectacular display of acrobatics.

The RPMs were relentless. His rig struggled to overcome the four-foot vertical wall and the additional near-vertical rock to follow. As he gassed it, only to gain momentum, the Jeep lurched, hopped and leapt off into the air, finally landed hard on the back side of the roll cage. It was a fall that could be felt from afar. The earth rumbled.

Hanging On The Horizon's Edge

Amy Bulloch showed the men exactly what a woman could do when behind the wheel of a Jeep and under the pressure of victory at probably the biggest event of the year. The entire day, she chased down yesterday's top finishers, the son and father (spotter) team of Tyler and Allan Wolford.

The Moose in action, pulling the load.

The Wolfords finished the day some 34 points ahead of the pack after yesterday's performance and performed phenomenally well in today's effort. But it seemed their pursuit of perfection and ultimate challenge of their personal best got the best of them.

On the last obstacle of the day, the two displayed remarkable team work, working the rocks with precision. But when the worse obstacle of the course presented itself, the two worked it over to finish without blemish. They avoided all the cones and clung to the horizon's edge in pursuit of perfection. Just when the end was in reach, the Jeep laid over on its side and ended their day just the same.

"Well, next time, we'll have to take the rock this way," said Allan to his son. "We did good."

BFGoodrich Communications Team Scoring hard at work. Dave Walter, left, flanked by LN, Wild Bill and The Captain (not shown).

With that last move that finished their day, the two handed the Legend Class victory to Amy Bulloch. Second in class was Kevin Hawkins. Third for the weekend was Garrett and Matt Sisson, a team that many thought would take home the trophy after their fifth place finish yesterday.

Congratulations to our friend Craig Stumph and the entire SUPERCRAWL crew for the greatest rock crawling event of the year. It's a great way to end the season. The action, the competition, the professionalism from all, including the competitors, was absolutely incredible. It ran like clock work. Precise and powerful. Look for more November 1. In the meantime, stay tuned for the photos to follow.

Remember, Randy's Ring and Pinion is where it's at! Thanks to the millions of Off-Road.com readers that made it happen and certainly made it all worth while.

We'll see you on the trail!